The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2015, and October 31, 2016 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2016 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on November 3, 2016, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

Ziefert provides a quick scan of the skeleton, organized along the old neck-bones-connected-to-the-shoulder-bone routine, with a lot of names of the bones, a few trivial asides—the topmost neck bone is called the Atlas, because it holds up the head—and not enough solid information. It’s hard to say what the intended audience is, as it’s too sophisticated for preschoolers, with humor they won’t understand, yet too simple for older kids, who need more details than this offers. The cartoon illustrations are offbeat and appealing; they work best when overlaid, as they often are, with real x-ray images of the bone being described. Among the other excellent books available on the topic, this one lacks bones—it doesn’t quite stand up. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-7)

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